Through My Dreams
by LacieFujoshi
Summary: For the past decade, Rin Matsuoka has been dreaming about nothing other than bodies of water and cooking mackerel every night. Haruka Nanase on the other hand, hasn't been dreaming the water and mackerel dreams he loves so much. But this stops when Haruka gets brought to the police station for trespassing, and meets the officer, Rin. Soulmate AU
1. Chapter 1

Ever since Rin Matsuoka was twelve years old, he always had constant dreams of being surrounded by water—specifically, pool water. And if it wasn't a dream about being in water or being near some sort of body of water, it was about water-related paintings or drawings or photographs or many other stuff. Sometimes, he would dream about actually drawing scenery with a waterfall as the focal point.

When it wasn't water-related, it would be things like woodcarving or cooking. But, over time, the cooking became more and more mackerel-centric. Oftentimes, these dreams were like watching small scenes briefly, something like a two-minute moment, if in real time. But, there were times when the dreams seemed to pan out in actual real time, like actually having to wait for the mackerel to finish grilling or patiently folding a blanket.

This frustrated Rin. He used to enjoy swimming, but when the dreams started bombarding him with water every night, he decided it was time to stop and see a shrink. He thought he was becoming pool-crazy.

Sousuke looked at the slump figure sitting across him. "You getting more of those pool dreams, Rin?"

Rin looked up and stared at Sousuke. He wanted to retort, to tell Sousuke to shut up, but he didn't have the energy. He shook his head. "It's winter. I'm getting more bathtub dreams than anything."

"So, why don't you just take a day off and spend the day in a warm bath?" Sousuke said, smirking a bit as he spoke. He knew Rin disliked his dreams and that those dreams were far from his actual desires, but it was fun teasing him this way.

"A nice, warm bath wouldn't be bad, would it?" Rin agreed, nodding his head. "But, if I do that and I fall asleep, I'm going to end up cooking mackerel in my dream."

Sousuke walked over to Rin and handed him a warm cup of coffee. "Maybe your brain's just telling you it wants mackerel. Try eating whatever you cook, it might stop."

Rin took the cup and muttered a quick 'thanks'. He took a quick sip, and then said, "Like hell it would. I already tried that." He set the cup down on his desk and stretched his arms. "And I already told you, my psychologist told me that these could be things my soulmate is experiencing."

"You actually still believe in that crap?" Sousuke asked, taking a drink of his own coffee.

"If you were experiencing what I am experiencing, you'd believe in it, too." Rin said, straightening his back and folding his arms across his chest. "And hello, do I look like a water-freak to you?"

"No, you just look like a romantic who's so hung up on the thought of having a soulmate. You probably want to find this person, don't you?"

Rin's jaw fell open and an eyebrow shot up at Sousuke's words. "Hey, not so loud!" He briefly looked around himself, scanning for anyone who might have looked his way. Everyone was minding their own business, except for his boss.

"What's with all this soulmate talk, Matsuoka?"

"Ah, Sir, it's nothing. I've just been sleepless lately." Rin answered.

"No need to hide it. I've heard of that superstition where one's dreams could be connected to their soulmate." He slapped Rin's back, then added, "it'll stop when you meet your soulmate."

"Mikoshiba!"

Seijuurou looked toward the person who called him. "Well, see ya, Matsuoka, Yamazaki."

Rin watched as Seijuurou walked over to a group of people wearing suits. "What are the higher-ups doing here?"

Sousuke shrugged his shoulders and walked toward his own seat. "Beats me. Looks like the sergeant is gonna be busy today."

"I guess we'll be busy, too."

"Hey, hey, listen to this!" Nagisa called out, holding a book titled 'The Soul Journey'. He opened the book wide enough for him to read comfortably. "If your soulmate exists within the same time period, i.e. both of you are alive in 1875, then you will both be subject to watching each other's experiences through dreams."

Makoto looked at Haruka, watching for a reaction.

"Contrary to popular belief," Nagisa continued, "it's actually random as to when the dreams will start. You could both have already been alive for half a century before the dreams come." He briefly turned his attention to Haruka. "Haven't you been having these weird dreams, as you call them, Haru-chan?"

"Is that why you're reading that to us?" Haruka asked.

Nagisa nodded. "Mhm, I read about this soulmate thing in a historical book we had to read for class once. When I heard Mako-chan mention it, I decided to read up on it. So, there, let's try analyzing your dreams, Haru-chan."

"No." Haruka slid out of the booth his friends were eating in. "My break is over. I'm going back to the kitchen."

Nagisa frowned. "We're going to continue this later, Haru-chan!"

Haruka blinked and turned away from his friends. "Whatever." He walked away and entered the kitchen quietly.

Nagisa turned to Makoto. "He seems a lot more bothered by it now."

Makoto raised his eyebrows. "Ah, well, there are times when the dream becomes a bit too violent, he told me once."

"Violent, how?"

Makoto shrugged and shook his head. "He didn't specify."

"Maybe we could find out who Haru-chan's soulmate is and ask why her life is violent." Nagisa asked, picking up the menu and looking through the list of food. He turned around and called for a waitress. A woman runs up to him with a pen and a notepad in her hands. "Could I please have one…"

Makoto laughed as Rei adjusted his glasses, frowning at the long list of food Nagisa was ordering.

"He's paying for his own food, right, Makoto-senpai?" Rei said, shaking his head with his arms folded across his chest. Makoto nodded with a smile still on his lips.

"Nagisa-kun, the concept of a soulmate is illogical. And your idea that they could watch each other's experiences through dreams is highly impossible."

"Rei-chan, there are some things that even science can't answer."

"It can't answer it just yet. But this whole soulmate thing, I don't get the logic in it. I know that soulmates are supposedly two souls that are connected or were separated when they were 'whole'. Scientifically, I don't see the point. What good is a soulmate?"

Nagisa puffed his cheeks as he stared at Rei, thinking about what he could answer to get Rei to believe or even plainly understand the concept.

"I actually get it, you know, Nagisa-kun. I just…"

"It's spiritual and science can't deal with the spiritual aspects."

The waitress came back to their table with a tray in her hand. "The appetizers" she said. She winked at Nagisa and added, "Nanase-san said he wasn't going to help with the bill this time."

"Whaaaat? He's being unfair." Nagisa turned to face Makoto, then back to the waitress. "Thanks, Chiyo-chan."

The waitress set the appetizers on the table and walked back to the kitchen, giggling.

Haruka hung his apron and exited the kitchen. He walked over to the booth where his friends were waiting for him.

Makoto turned his head to face Haruka. "You're early today, Haru."

Haruka nodded. "Nagisa said we were passing by the old swim club." He looked toward Nagisa and narrowed his eyes. "I'm not talking about my dreams."

Nagisa grabbed Haruka's arm and nuzzled his head against him. "But, Haru-chan, this is a rare thing. Aren't you curious as to who she is?"

"No."

"Do you think it's illogical, too?" Nagisa asked, standing up and moving beside Haruka. He pointed at Rei and said, "Are you like him, too, Haru-chan?"

Rei slid out of his seat and fixed his glasses. "I really can't see how Haruka-senpai would be able to dream about someone else's experiences."

"I don't know, but the book says that when you and your soulmate are both asleep, your dreams sync and you can see some of their best or worst memories and experiences." Nagisa said as their group walked out of the restaurant.

"Both asleep?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happens if only one of them is asleep?"

"The book said the dream becomes something like a live-feed camera."

Rei shook his head. "That's ridiculous!"

Makoto looked at Haruka, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips forming a small frown. Haruka rolled his eyes and looked away from the arguing pair.

His mind drifted to the dream he had the previous night. Through the eyes of someone with reddish hair blown around by the wind, he watched as the sun set. He marveled at the orange color around the sun blending with the pinks and the blues of the sky. Just as he was about to run into the ocean, right before his feet felt the splash of the oncoming wave, his vision shifted.

He could now see a dark room, the furniture placed very differently from his own room. His line of sight moved and he watched as he approached a closet door. An inside light lit and he could see a hand reach out and grab a pair of pants.

Haruka watched as he ran out of the door, shoving the keys into his pocket. He was running, vision blurring and a voice that didn't belong to him panting.

"Haru?"

Haruka snapped out of his reverie and faced Makoto. "What?"

"You were spacing out. Is anything bothering you?"

Haruka turned his face away from Makoto. "Nothing."

They walked quietly for a while before Nagisa pointed to a building and ran, dragging Rei behind him. Haruka and Makoto hurried behind the two. Nagisa pulled away a yellow strip from the door and pushed himself in.

"I-I don't think we should be in here." Makoto said, his face paling and his hands gripping Haruka's shirt.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've been here before." Nagisa said. He walked over to the reception counter and took hold of a notebook. "Hey look, it's one of the logbooks."

Makoto released Haruka and walked over to Nagisa. They opened the notebook and read through the lists. "It's from after we left." Makoto said. "Oh, look, Haru logged in one more time here. Hey, Haru what were you—" He looked around his surroundings but Haruka was nowhere to be found. "HARU?!"

"Do you think…" Rei began, stopping when he noticed something from outside.

Makoto dashed toward the pool area and grabbed at Haruka just as the latter was about to strip his pants. "Stop, Haru!" He struggled with Haruka who tried to push him away.

They stopped moving when a bright light flashed their way.

"What are you doing?" a voice called out, loud and commanding. "Didn't you see the tape around the door? You're trespassing. Come with me to the station. You and your friends explain yourself there."

Makoto released Haruka and nodded. Haruka fixed his pants and wore his shirt.

Haruka entered the police station with Makoto in front of him and Rei behind him. His eyes widened at the area. Everything looked familiar, like an old house one grew up in but left.

"These two," the officer pointed at Makoto and Nagisa, "room 1." He pointed to Haruka and Rei, "room 2." He looked around and pointed to two other officers. "Yamazaki, room 1. Matsuoka, room 2." He motioned with his hands for the four to be assisted to their respective rooms. "I caught them trespassing at that old swim club."

Haruka walked slowly to 'Room 2'. He felt like he'd been in it already and that he memorized how to get to it. The silver-haired officer guiding them opened the door and ushered them inside. "Please take a seat and wait for an officer to come in."

Haruka sat at the seat away from the door. A minute later, a man with wine-colored hair walked in and sat at the chair across from them. He looked first at Rei, and then at Haruka. Their eyes locked and Haruka felt his head fill with so many thoughts. Memories that weren't his filled his vision. He placed a hand to his forehead and looked away. Just as quickly as the headache came, it disappeared.

"O-officer, are you alright?" Haruka heard Rei ask, voice high and slightly shaking.

Haruka looked toward the officer and saw that he, too, was holding his head in pain. Their eyes locked again but nothing happened.


	2. In Which the Hints Are Pieced Together

Rin stood straight and cleared his throat. "I—I'm okay now." He said to Rei. He looked over to Haruka. "You, are you okay? You looked like you were in pain."

Haruka nodded. "I'm fine."

"What was that?" He said, looking over to Rei. "Did you feel it, too?"

Rei stared at him, eyes wide. "Did I feel what, officer?"

Rin raised an eyebrow and eyed Haruka who held his gaze for a short while before looking away. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright," he said to them. "Let's get down to business." He shifted his vision from Haruka to Rei. "What were you doing there?"

Rei adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "We heard that the swim club was going to be demolished tomorrow, so we wanted to visit it once last time."

"You do know it's private property, yeah?" Rin folded his arms over his chest. "Didn't you see the yellow tape? What about the sign on the door?"

"W-we're very sorry, officer. My friends and I did not notice those, Sir." Rei answered, his hands gripping the hem of his shorts, knuckles turning white.

"Be more observant next time. Ignorance is not an excuse. As for you," Rin looked over at Haruka. He studied the way Haruka's hair fell over his forehead, the blueness of his eyes, and the way his lips curled downward. Rin snapped back into attention and focused on what he was about to say. "What were you doing trying to strip?"

"I wanted to swim." Haruka answered.

"There are other places you could swim. Places you wouldn't have to trespass." Rin said. He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "You do know you're getting fined for this, right?"

Rin lay on his bed, his arms under his head. "What was that…that headache?" He turned to his side and pulled his blanket closer to his chest. He shut his eyes and went to sleep. And, for the first time in ten years, he didn't dream that night. He had a peaceful sleep. No pools, no mackerel, no bodies of water. It was just plain darkness.

He woke up feeling energized. And then, it struck him. "Hey wait, I didn't dream of anything." He said to himself. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" He got up and grinned to himself. "It finally stopped! Great!" He walked over to his kitchen and made himself breakfast. He ate his food slowly, still grinning from ear to ear. "This is for real, right?" He asked himself. "I'm not dreaming that I've lost the ability to dream those kinds of dreams." As soon as he finished, he washed his bowl and headed to his bathroom.

"What a great way to start the day!" He said, entering his shower and turning the faucet on.

For the first time in weeks/months, he went to work happy that day.

"You're looking happy." Sousuke said as Rin sat down with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"How can I not be? I didn't dream anything last night." Rin answered, waving his hand as though dismissing something. He took a sip of his coffee and smirked at Sousuke. "I hope I don't dream anything for the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll end up getting normal dreams again. Whatever those are."

"Well, I'm glad you're finally getting some sleep now. You've been coming in with dark circles under your eyes lately." Sousuke said.

Rin shook his head. "You try dreaming about pools every fuckin' day, or try spending an hour or so in a bathtub."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Sousuke remarked, rubbing his chin. "Seems kinda relaxing."

"Yeah, if you can feel the water. The only thing that happens to me is I'm stuck looking at bathroom tiles. Or the ceiling. Sometimes, I'm seeing things while submerged. And it freaks me out that I'm not wet." Rin's voice rose as he spoke.

"Yeah, that sounds frustrating." Sousuke said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hell yeah, it's frustrating." Rin straightened his back and finished his coffee. "Well, let's get started."

That night and the night after, and the night after, Rin's dreams were blank. And every morning, he would wake up happy and refreshed.

"Man, I never felt this energized!" He told Sousuke, stretching his arms up. "Nearly a week of peaceful sleep. I wonder what changed ."

Sousuke shrugged and watched Rin working happily, typing reports and fixing files faster than he did in the past few months. He watched as Rin smiled to himself from time to time.

Rin took a break. "Come on," he said, walking toward Sousuke's desk. "Let's grab a bite." Sousuke looked up at Rin and nodded. "Alright," he said, shutting down his computer. "Where we going?"

Rin took the keys on Sousuke's desk and spun it around his index finger. "Gou told me about this restaurant, let's eat there."

Haruka opened his eyes slowly. The sudden brightness forced him to shut his eyes instinctively. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and went straight for the bathtub. He turned the faucet and watched as the water fell into the bottom of the tub. He went back into his room and took the clothes he was going to change into and brought them back with him to the bathroom. He stripped his clothes quickly and dumped them on the clothes-bin he had nearby.

He sat in the bathtub and played with the water, creating small waves around his hand. He stared at it and thought of how peaceful his sleep had been. He watched as he began making small splashes and sighed. No more guns, no more sirens, and no more dealing with rowdy people.

If it lasts, that is.

When Haruka was twelve, he began dreaming about occasional swimming competitions. Sometimes, he would dream about playing soccer or other non-swimming sports. As the year progressed, he got more and more dreams that seemed more like memories than random things suddenly making itself known to him. By the time he was fourteen, he was able to piece together the life of someone whom he did not know.

This someone, whoever he or she was lost his or her father over a decade and a half ago. This person took swimming lessons and befriended a kid who kept recurring in the dreams. If it had not been for the fact that this brunet kid wasn't always, present, Haruka would have thought that the dreams were all pointing to him.

By the time he was fifteen, Haruka noticed that the pool dreams lessened, replaced instead by a beach-side scenery. Over the years, Haruka watched, and technically experienced, this person go through school and train to become a police officer, along with the black-haired guy. But oddly enough, no matter how many years had passed, Haruka never learned what the person's gender was. Was this person a boy or a girl? How old was this person? Around his age, perhaps, judging from the other kid. But in a way, Haruka felt that this person was a guy like himself.

Following it by stereotype, it would be very reasonable for this person to be a guy. There were sports. There was no attraction to the male who was always around. And, he once saw swimming trunks folded among the discarded clothes in this person's room.

Haruka abruptly lifted his head from the water, shaking it. He got up from the bathtub and wore his uniform. He headed to his kitchen and grilled mackerel, the smell of the smoke and fish sticking to his top.

He ate the fish slowly, savoring its taste along with the toast on his plate. Then, he headed to work.

It was the same the next day, dreamless. And for the day that followed, it was still dreamless. Haruka felt relieved. He didn't want any more of those kinds of dreams. He wanted to dream about things he liked, like swimming in a pool again.

Haruka went to work more rested than the past couple of weeks.

"You're looking less pale, Nanase-san." a co-worker commented and Haruka nodded.

"Nanase-san!" somebody called out to him. "A customer wants to speak with you. He's asking about the menu." Haruka nodded and followed the waiter out of the kitchen.

"Over there," the waiter said. "The officer with red hair."

Haruka locked eyes with the officer, whose eyes mimicked his own—wide and staring. He walked over to the officer and took a quick glance at the other officer. A familiar set of teal eyes looked at him. Haruka furrowed his eyebrows and frowned inwardly. The person who kept appearing in his dreams was sitting in front of him and he was with only one person, presumably his partner.

With what Haruka learned about the police from TV shows and books, they only had one partner. And whenever his dreams involved police work, he always saw this officer. _'Is this one the one that I—' _Haruka's thought was interrupted by the voice of the officer sitting across the brunet, the officer that interrogated him that one night—Officer Matsuoka.

"It's you!" Rin said, pointing at Haruka. He looked over to Sousuke and added, "He also experienced that headache I mentioned the other day." He looked back at Haruka. "Isn't that right?"

Haruka nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help you, officer?"

"Oh, right." Rin took the menu and opened it. "You're the one who cooks these, right?" Haruka nodded.

"My sister mentioned this mackerel-pineapple pizza and I wanted to give it a try. Could you describe the taste, please?"

"I have one already prepared; would you like a free taste?"

"Sure." Rin answered. Haruka turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Sousuke looked at Rin. "You went here for some weird pizza?"

Rin laid the menu on the table. "I'm getting meat, too. But, hey, it's not every day that you could try something like that, don't you agree?"

Sousuke shrugged. "Tell me how it tastes, then."

Haruka slowly opened the kitchen door and went back to their table with a plate in his hand. "Here," he said, lowering the plate in front of Rin.

"Thanks. Here, Sousuke, you taste it, too." Rin said as Haruka turned around and returned to the kitchen.

"What a bother." Haruka said to himself as he opened the door to the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later, a waiter entered the kitchen and called out to Haruka. "Nanase-san, the officer said he wants a mackerel-pineapple pizza to go. And some..." Haruka's assistant chef listed down the others.

"Could you tell them the steak is going to take a while?" Haruka said. _'Just so they're prepared. They ordered a lot.' _

The waiter went back to Rin and Sousuke and relayed Haruka's message.

"Alright." Rin said, leaning back into his seat. He turned back to Sousuke. "Like I said, I wasn't expecting this pizza to taste like this. It always looked so unappetizing in my dreams."

"In your dreams?" Sousuke parroted. "You've dreamt of this weird concoction?" He took a bite from the half-slice Rin gave him. He chewed it for a while, savoring the taste. "Surprisingly, it's not _that_ bad."

"Right?" Rin said, smirking. "I think, if you give me the main ingredients, I'd be able to replicate this. I've seen it made so many times."

Sousuke stared at Rin, watching him intently. "Is this the only place that serves this pizza?"

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. Probably. Why?"

"And he's from the group that trespassed into that old swim club?" Sousuke asked. Rin nodded. "Is he the one who stripped—" again, Rin nodded. "Because he wanted to swim?"

Rin raised an eyebrow, his mouth beginning to frown. "Uh huh, and?"

Sousuke smirked. "And your pool and mackerel dreams have stopped."

Rin's eyes narrowed. "Don't screw with me." He let out a long sigh. "Why do I even tell you these things?"

Sousuke let out a low laugh. He watched as a waiter approached their table with a tray in his hands. The waiter set the food on the table. "What time does the chef get off of work?" He asked the waiter. Rin looked at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

"8 in the evening." The waiter answered.

"Thanks." Sousuke said. He attended to his food, pretending not to notice the look Rin was giving him—lips tight, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed. "Just eat," Sousuke said to him.

Rin let out another sigh and relaxed his facial muscles. "Fine." He said, picking up his knife and his fork. "I'll do it. I'll ask him if he had dreams, too."

Haruka stepped out of the restaurant. Someone was leaning against the side of the door. He wore a beanie on his head, covering his hair and his head was bowed.

"I've been waiting for you." He said, lifting his head. His face was illuminated by the street light and red eyes locked with Haruka's widened ones.

Haruka narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

Rin stood up straight and faced Haruka fully. "I wanted to ask you a few questions." He said.

"I didn't do anything wrong this time."

"It's not that!" Rin snapped. He took a deep breath and fixed his beanie. "These are a bit more personal."

Haruka stared at him, unblinking.

Rin looked away from Haruka and bit his lip. "Do you like swimming a lot?" Haruka's eyes widened at this, but the rest of his face remained passive. "Well, I guess you do. Well, um," Rin stopped. He wasn't sure which question he wanted to bring up next. "That pizza of yours, did you learn it from somewhere else?"

"My grandmother. I learned it from my grandmother." Haruka answered.

"Do you—" Rin stopped again, his cheeks acquiring a pink tinge. "Do you spend hours in your bathtub every day?"

Haruka blinked. "Yeah."

"Have you, uh," Rin looked away from Haruka, admiring the lights from the windows on the opposite building. "Been having really long dreams that seem a bit unnatural?"

"Yeah. That officer you were with was always in it."

Rin snapped his attention to Haruka, turning his head to face him. "You kept seeing Sousuke?"

"Yeah. But not always. Mostly, I saw him while he was on duty."

Rin slapped his forehead, covering his eyes. "Do you know about soulmates?"

"Yeah."

"Would you believe me if I said we could be soulmates?"

Rin took a peek at Haruka from between his fingers. Haruka looked away.

"…Yeah."


End file.
